When I saw these photos of this ram on Pu’u Wa’awa’a, I couldn’t help but think of police mugshots. “OK, look over to the side. Now look at the camera. You’re done. Next!” Except, I think they do the front view first and side view second. Not that I have any firsthand knowledge of the procedure!
Peppered Moray Eels live in shallow waters, including tide pools and ponds. My fish book describes them as bold and active, and notes that they will even launch themselves out of the water, onto the rocks, trying to catch crabs, their primary prey.
So it’s somewhat surprising that, while I have probably seen glimpses of this eel, these are the first photos I’ve taken of one. This one was swimming along and, obligingly, continued to do so for a while, without disappearing into a crack or hole.
I was driving home yesterday and I was struck by a contrasting view. The top photo shows the Keanuiomano Stream running down towards the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, the main road along the coast from Kailua Kona to the north.
I posted (here) about the river running high a few weeks ago, following the passage of Tropical Storm Calvin. Since then, there’s been a gradual decline in volume, but there’s still a trickle of water and the stream bed is full of pools. This area is popular with the goats, because it’s a good source of water and fodder after rainfall.
Crossing the road, the view is starkly different. The passage of Hurricane Dora triggered strong, dry trade winds. When fires broke out, they spread quickly (here). This view shows the aftermath of one of the relatively small fires, which burned about 500 acres next door to Mauna Kea Resort. The palm trees and houses on the left of the bottom image are part of the resort.
Ironically, when I took river running high photos, I checked out the other side of the highway for possible photos. I didn’t bother taking any, as I couldn’t see much because of the thick vegetation. Now it’s wide open down to the ocean.
This month’s Sunday Stills Color Challenge theme is ‘Yellow.’ See more responses here. Once again, I’ve gone for a melange of photos, which sounds edible, but probably isn’t. Captions on the photos.
A friend gave my wife a small bouquet of flowers from the garden. These ended up on a shelf below a print of one of my old photos, and I liked how the colors worked together. This photo also provides evidence that there is at least one snake in Hawaii!
I came across this scene at work, where someone had dropped a spot of jam, or something similar, on the floor of the lanai. As per usual, the ants were onto it in a heartbeat. I like how they arrange themselves, as though they’re at the counter of a diner. Of course, there’s always someone who can’t wait and will clamber over everything to get theirs.
Reflections in one of the golden pools at Keawaiki.
Yesterday morning, around 4:30, I got a text alerting me to a brush fire burning alongside the road I take to work. It said the road would be closed for two to three hours. This was not a good way to start the day! It meant I’d have to take the road over Kohala Mountain.
When I headed out, the wind was howling and the mountain road was strewn with tree debris, including some sizable branches. Farther along, I noticed a cloud of smoke ahead of me in the vicinity of Waimea. For a few moments, I thought this new fire was burning around the alternate route I was taking, but I saw it was a bit farther away than that. This fire was quickly contained, but the first one is still going strong as I write, with people living in the area being evacuated for safety.
The fires were a byproduct of the passage of Hurricane Dora, well to the south of Hawaii, but still a major hurricane. Its passage caused very strong, but dry trade winds over the island, which exacerbated conditions in some already drought-hit areas. It was no surprise that fires broke out and that, once they did, they quickly got out of hand.
The top photo looks up the coast toward the fire, later in the day. The burning area is in the distance with smoke billowing out over the water. In front of that is a cloud of brown dirt being blown from the dry gullies of the hillside on the right. In the foreground is a smaller, pale cloud of sand being blown from the beach in Kawaihae Harbor.
The bottom photo is a view of the fire near Waimea. When I stopped the car to take photos, the wind was blowing so hard I could barely open the door. That same wind buffeted me around so that, despite propping myself against a rail, I couldn’t keep the camera still enough to get a sharp photo!
Graham's Island 